


*Presses Buttons on the Microwave* "911 What's Your Emergency?"

by Freakingoutdontyoumeanfreakingin



Series: Mechanic 'Verse [3]
Category: Original Work
Genre: comment and i'll love u forever, i love paprika's name and i hate her, yes they are all teens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-11
Updated: 2019-10-11
Packaged: 2020-12-09 05:22:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20989526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Freakingoutdontyoumeanfreakingin/pseuds/Freakingoutdontyoumeanfreakingin
Summary: (Something with 'Nic- school life as the POV of a (semi-friendless) genius in HS and also w/ an artificial heart Words: strident?  nonchalant?  malleable?  ludicrous?  abridge?)I uhI suck at slice-of-life but here take this.





	*Presses Buttons on the Microwave* "911 What's Your Emergency?"

I walk through the halls of the esteemed A. Nigma High School on my first day back from winter break. I’m excited to be back, but my sophomore year so far had been very… eventful. I had been found and recruited by the Heroes Association at the beginning of summer of freshman year, kidnapped the first time since joining the Heroes Association and met Tricks, Mystify, Tartarus, and Metallica summer of sophomore year. I met unit 13 during the later parts of that summer. I had been kidnapped for the second major time by the week before winter break, and only come back for two days before winter break the same year. Winter break itself was relatively uneventful, although I had quite a shocking talk with Director Gore. He grimaced as he told me to go bother Will, and when I had found Will and inquired as to what the fuss was all about he informed me that the entirety of unit 13 was transfering to A. Nigma! Anybody else would have been shocked, but I know better than to show it. Outwardly, I acted nonchalant and congratulated him. Inwardly, I cursed my parents’ will for making me unable to accelerate right past high school and college, admittedly not for the first time. As a scrawny teenager with a mouth too snarky for my own good, social debuts of grandeur are a little beyond my reach. After I made it clear I didn’t lend money (or me) to people in return for friendship, people stopped pretending they liked me. It hurt, but maybe 13 would lend a help. Roger and Hero are built like tanks, Renata looks like she’ll snap your legs in five seconds with her pinky if you annoy her, and Will and Elphie are both good at combat. Elphie is an immigrant, from Slovakia or somewhere similar, and grew up on the streets. (She’s a master of back-alley fighting. Do not underestimate her because of her petite stature. Men have died for that.) I walk to my locker, mulling over all of this, and am going through my books to grab what I need for my next class. Unfortunately, the ugly mug I find on the other end is none other than Bull Wellwood, and makes me wish for a moment I had stayed home. Then I remember home is a boarding tower, specifically for unit 13, and that agents line every entrance, so there’s no way to get inside without being spotted. Trust me, I’ve tried. Bull is not a face I’d start my days with if I had a choice, however I do not have any say in the matter of being his favorite victim.

“Hey, Nobody. How’s orphan life going?” That’s Bull’s idea of an insult, and if I’m being honest; It’s pitiful. He calls me Nobody because I don’t know my true name, just that I got a will with my baby blanket when I was found. No signature, just a name to a bank account with enough funds for a good college that is frozen until I get to college or I’m of age. Whichever comes first, they said, like they thought I’d be nothing. I proved them wrong. Quickly. “Nobody… I’m talking here!” Bull’s voice is snobby, and has a heavy lilt of jock in it. Just as well, as he’s on the football team.

“I know,” I make my words strut, dripping with so much insolence that I swear I can almost see them. “You just weren’t doing a very good job of it, so I stopped caring.” I fake a little gasp and craft an expression of surprise onto my face. “Oh wait! I didn’t care in the first place.” I start with cheer in my tone, which morphs into an imitation of Roger’s perfect deadpan with a sprinkle of sarcasm for extra kick. It seems to work… Perhaps a bit too well, as my head is shoved into the locker next to my own. I’m suddenly very aware the pounding of my brand-spanking-new minor concussion. It crosses my pain-addled mind to wonder if Bull’s dented the malleable metal of the locker before he’s doing it again. For emphasis, maybe. I can never tell.

“What was that, Nobody?” Bull’s got his fingers in my tossed-around brown hair, and his breath is rancid on my cheek. My eyes scrunch in pain, and something wet is on the locker that wasn’t there before. “Gonna call your parents to save you, Nobody? Oh,” he laughs, and it’s a line so predictable I have to restrain myself from finishing his taunt. “You don’t have any!” Bull laughs, and I can imagine how the picture must seem to an onlooker. It’s not flattering. The ludicrous thought to say, “This is not my good side” occurs, but I banish it quickly. A voice, loud, clear and most certainly Roger’s, rings through the hallways. I open my eyes as Bull’s grip loosens with the pull on my scalp.

“‘Nic? Is that you? Young man, step away from this person!” Roger sounds so sure of himself I almost don’t want to point out he’s not older than Bull. “Friend ‘Nic?” That’s Hero… so even gods go to school. “Do you fare well?”

“Peachy,” I mumble from Bull’s underarm. Bull seems to notice what’s going on again, breaking out of his shock to run away. He lets me go so abruptly I have to supress the urge to vomit and force myself to stand. “Thanks,” I say in the general direction of Roger and Hero. “Now, if you’ll excuse me I need to get to class." I ignore their cries to "wait" now, but I can’t ignore them later. Naturally, they’re all together at a table. I do a double take, and confirm that; Yes, they have claimed an entire table, and yes, they have an entire table. A sense of pride, weirdly, emerges in the pit of my stomach. I squash it as quickly as it appears. Roger spots me, and I know I won’t manage to hide behind a book or in the library to escape. He motions me to come over, and I consider my options; Run to the library and pray they won’t follow, pretend not to know them, or be a sheep and follow the orders given. I see no good option, but they did help with Bull… I’ll join them, then. I make my way over, and it is awkward at first. I get used to it, the awkwardness I mean. The people are new. Notwithstanding, I make tentative bonds come alive with a couple. Hero is a giant golden retriever in human form who speaks a bit oldly, Hero is more interested in Elphie and wondering asking how she’s faring, Will is friendly, Renata is glaring (as usual), and Roger seems intent in staring at his cafeteria food for a bit. I crack a joke, hoping to avoid being asked about the morning’s events. “So,” I say lightheartedly, “Did you find an eye in the nacho meat or what? It’s good protein, if you did, so the cafeteria ladies must like you.” Roger lifts his gaze from his food (if it can even be called that).

“Really? It’s an eye? I thought it tasted a bit like rat.” I’m gaping, and if I had parents they’d be in my head telling me that it’s rude to stare. A moment of stunned silence later, the entire group is laughing. Even I am, hand covering the thing. Roger’s wearing this wry little smirk on his face, looking like he’s proud of himself. I have a little bit of a desire to stay here, with these people, come the end of the period. I quell it quickly, as I am positive it won’t end well. It’s the end of the day before I know it, wasted on thinking of the shy smirk and Renata and how for a millisecond there it felt like unit 13 was an actual working unit instead of what the trainwreck it is in reality. It’s amusing, almost, when I hear Paprika’s metal-tipped nails on the lockers. The strident sound would be nearly unbearable to anyone with sensitive hearing. I am not excited to see her. Paprika Lime was the exception to my record of no relationships… until it was revealed she was with me on a bet. That was freshman year, so I’m over it now. Me being me, I earn a lot of money through Heroes Association work and hacking/computer-fixing, so I’m relatively wealthy. To abridge the horror straight out of a emotional manipulation pamphlet in the counseling office; I was impressionable, as someone at the age of 13 usually is, but I wasn’t stupid, I said no to her when she came back asking for money and she didn’t like that, said I was ignoring her out of spite. She spread some not-nice rumors, but I had to develop a talent for dealing with the press after I was found three years ago at the beginning of my freshman year. And now she’s here again. I snap out of my reminiscing session to Paprika’s face looking at me with the standard expression. “So ‘Nic,” she drawls, honey tinted.

“I’m in a bit of a hard place. Mind helpin’ me out a bit?”

“Ms. Lime, I have informed you prior to now that that is not going to happen.” I try a professional decline.

“Poo. Well, I guess our relationship is unimportant to you anyway. I’ll just be on my way, then…”

“Goodbye, Ms. Lime.” I heave a sigh of relief when she’s gone. Unfortunately, Roger has snuck up on me again. He questions me, I ignore him, he keeps extending lunch invitations and before I know it the day is done. My first day back after winter break has been an utter terror. At least I don’t have (much) homework!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fast forward a month, and unit 13 is on relatively decent terms with me. I’ve established a tentative ground to stand on in their group, outside of my aerial support in battle. Paprika is still annoying for a couple weeks after the first day of unit 13, but she stops confronting me directly by the end of the month. I suspect Renata is involved in this, but she’s quiet on the subject when I bring it up casually. Bunny eventually gets around to meeting all of the unit, but that’s a story for another day. Bull is also backing off, he’s still annoying just less physical about it. I’m still late, and people are going to suspect this little stint sooner or later by the time I’m through with high school. I think I could take an online university? Story for another time.

**Author's Note:**

> Another one bc copy-paste is easy :p


End file.
